We are All Searching but, for What?

Mysore, 2017

It seems that we are all searching for something… may it be inner peace, to heal, to be loved, appreciated, accepted for who we are, whatever the reason yoga comes into our lives. The thing is a lot of times someone gets on the path and then they jump off, they doubt, they find excuses. There is no time, it’s yoga’s fault, “not working”, or the teachers fault, it’s not for me… change does not happen in a few weeks or even months.

Real value gets confused by this desire for instant results… weight reduction, strength building, jump backs, core building, handstands yet, that is not yoga nor the point of yoga. To experience change in the body and mind takes many years of consistent practice. By the time you begin to do the postures that you craved you usually won’t care so much about them or the physical results any longer. Which means yoga is working.

Yoga is not about instant gratification. It is about a slow and continual journey of understanding the self. Listening to our inner voice to gain a better understanding of ourselves, our true selves…  and to be at peace with what we find. It takes many, many years of dedication and devotion under the guidance of a proper teacher that too has been guided under a noble teacher (or if lucky a Guru) for years in order to see change. 

All good things take time, patience, perseverance. A desire to be is not enough. One must practice.

About the Author

Tara Mitra is a C-IAYT certified yoga therapist and lineage teacher within the Krishnamacharya-Desikachar tradition with 23 years of practice and 17 years of teaching. She offers mentorship programs for advanced yoga teachers alongside Dr Vigneshwar Bhat (Vedic priest and scholar), Dr Padmini (classical Āyurvedic physician), and Dr Robert Lamport (Gonstead chiropractor). Her teaching draws on Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras, yoga therapy, Vedic chanting and Āyurveda. Her work is rooted in the transmission of authentic Indic knowledge within a living lineage.

Mentorship, courses, and programs at taramitrayoga.com